Water purifier

ABSTRACT

A water purifier includes a cooling water tank that holds cooling water; a stirring member that is provided in the cooling water tank to stir the cooling water; a cold water pipe that is provided in the cooling water tank and wound several times in a cylindrical shape; an evaporator that is provided in the cooling water tank; a separator on which the evaporator is provided and that is provided over the cold water pipe to divide an internal space of the cooling water tank into a first space and a second space; and a plurality of holders that protrude upward from the bottom of the cooling water tank, and each of the holders having a seating groove for receiving a portion the cold water pipe.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2016-0090827 filed on Jul. 18, 2016 in Korea, and the entire contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety under 35U.S.C. §§119 and 365.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a water purifier.

2. Background

A purifier is a machine that filters harmful substances such as dirt orheavy metals in water using a physical and/or a chemical treatment. Anexample of a water purifier is described in Korean Patent ApplicationPublication No. 10-2011-0065979 (published on Jun. 16, 2011). This waterpurifier incudes a tank for holding water or other heat-exchangingfluid, and positions an evaporator and a cold water pipe in the tank. Arefrigerant flows into the evaporator to cool the water within the tankthrough a first heat exchange, and the purified water in the cold watercoil is cooled by a second heat exchange with the cooled water in thetank. A stirring member in the tank is operated to induce a watermovement that accelerates the heat exchanges.

The above reference is incorporated by reference herein whereappropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternativedetails, features and/or technical background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cold water production unit of thewater purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cold water productionunit;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the assembly of the cold waterproduction unit with a cooling water tank removed;

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing a water channel connected to thewater purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a separator that is combined withthe cold water production unit of the water purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the separator;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG.4; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a cold water pipe that is provided in a coolingwater tank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A water purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure isdescribed hereafter in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water purifier according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, a waterpurifier 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may bea direct hot and cold water purifier that dispenses cold water or hotwater. For example, the 10 may purify (or filter) water received from anexternal water source and may then heat or cool the purified water. Asused herein, a “direct water purifier” is a water purifier that directlydispenses purified water to a user without storing the purified waterwithin a tank. It should be appreciated, however, that a direct waterpurifier may include a tank for holding other fluids, such as water thatis used to cool the purified water.

An external shape or appearance of the water purifier 10 may be formedby combining a plurality of panels. In detail, the water purifier 10 mayhave a substantially cubic shape formed by combining a front panel 11for a front, side (or lateral) panels 12 for both sides, a top panel 13for a top, a rear panel for a rear, and a base (or bottom) panel for thebottom. Various parts for purifying water may be provided in an internalspace defined by combining the panels.

An operation display unit (or user interface) 14 that allows a user toinput instructions for operating the water purifier 10 and displaysinformation regarding operation states of the water purifier 10 may beprovided on the front panel 11. The operation display unit 14 mayinclude a plurality of buttons and may selectively emit light throughthe buttons. For example, when a user presses, touches, or otherwiseselects a button of the operation display unit 14, light is emitted tothe selected button so that a user can easily recognizes that the buttonhas been selected, and a function of associated with the selected buttonis performed. In another example, the operation display unit 14 mayinclude a touch screen to display information, such as a graphical userinterface, and to detect a user input related to the displayedinformation.

In one implementation, the operation display unit 14 may include buttonsfor selecting the attributes for dispensed water, such as selecting adesired temperature for the dispensed water. For instance, the operationdisplay unit 14 may include buttons for “cold” water (e.g., water cooledbelow a first prescribed temperature), “hot” water (e.g., water heatedabove a second prescribed temperature), or room-temperature water (e.g.,water that is neither heated nor cooled). Furthermore, the operationdisplay unit 14 may include a button indicating whether a hot water modehas been turned on/off, and the operation display unit 14 may displaytemperatures of the hot water and the cold water. In another example,the operation display unit 14 may include buttons for displaying certainquantities of the purified water to be dispensed, such as a first buttonfor dispensing a first quantity of purified water and a second buttonfor continuously dispensing purified water. It should be appreciatedthat the operation display unit 14 may exclude some of these buttonsand/or may include other buttons for performing other functions.

The water purifier 10 may further include a water chute (or tube) 15under the operation display unit 14. The water chute 15 is operated by auser to cause the purified water to be dispensed. The water chute 15opens/closes to selectively dispense purified water to the user, andwater chute 15 may also be referred to as an opening/closing part or anopening/closing nozzle. For example, the operation of the water chute 15may be controlled by one or more buttons in the operation display unit14 to dispense purified room-temperature water, cold water, or hotwater.

A tray for collecting water dropping from the water chute 15 may beprovided at the lower end of the front of the front panel 11. The traymay be formed with a shape defining an internal space or cavity toreceive dripping water and may have a grill-shaped cover on the top forfiltering foreign substances. The tray may be moved with respect to thefront panel 11 or removed to allow a user to receive purified water inwater bottles or other containers having heights that exceed apredetermined distance between the water chute 15 and the tray or incontainers having wide bottoms. In one example, the tray may include afloat or other visual indicator showing a level of water within thetray, so a user can recognize when to empty water from the tray.

Although not shown in the figures, several components including acooling cycle for cooling water and a cold water production unit forproducing cold water are provided inside the panels forming the externalshape of the water purifier 10. In detail, the water purifier 10 mayinclude one or more of a compressor that compresses a refrigerant into ahigh-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, a condenser thatcondenses the refrigerant from the compressor into a high-temperatureand high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and a condenser fan for heatexchange with the condenser. The water purifier 10 may further includean expansion valve that expands the refrigerant from the condenser intoa low-temperature and low-pressure 2-phase refrigerant, and anevaporator (to be described below) to which the low-temperature andlow-pressure 2-phase refrigerant flows after passing through theexpansion valve.

The water purifier 10 may also include a cold water production unit (orcooler), and as described below, the cold water production unit mayinclude the evaporator and a cold water pipe or coil (to be describedbelow) through which cold water flows. The water purifier 10 may furtherinclude a heater for heating supplied water to a set temperature. Thewater purifier 10 may further include a filter assembly that filtersforeign substances to purify water received from an external watersupplier. The filter assembly may include, for example, one or more of acarbon module and a filter.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a cold water production unit (or chiller) 20according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include: acooling water tank 21 that is filled with cooling water; an insulatingcase (not shown) that receives the cooling water tank 21 to insulate thecooling water tank 21 from the interior air; a drain valve (not shown)that is connected to the internal space of the cooling water tank 21through the insulating case; a cold water pipe (or cold water coil) 22that is provided in the cooling water tank 21; a separator 23 that isprovided over the cold water pipe 22 in the cooling water tank 21; anevaporator (or evaporator coil) 24 that is provided inside the separator23; a stirring motor support 26 that is provided at the top of thecooling water tank 21 and functions as a cover for sealing the coolingwater tank 21; a stirring motor 27 that is fixed inside the stirringmotor support 26 and has a rotary shaft extending downward; a stirringmember (or stirring head) 25 that is provided in the cooling water tank21 and is connected to the rotary shaft of the stirring motor 27; and atank cover (not shown) that covers the open top of the cooling watertank 21.

In one implementation, the drain valve may be provided through theinsulating case and the cooling water tank 21 and may be insertedthrough a side of the insulating case corresponding to a portionadjacent to the bottom of the cooling water tank 21. When the drainvalve is opened, the water or other liquid in the cooling water tank 21can be discharged out of the water purifier 10.

The cold water pipe 22 may be a coil that is wound into a cylinder orother shape. In the cold water pipe 22, vertically adjacent portions maybe in contact each other or may be spaced apart at a predetermineddistance from each other. Similarly, vertically adjacent portions maycontact each other or may be spaced apart at a predetermined distancefrom each other.

The cold water pipe 22 may be, as shown in the figures, wound severaltimes horizontally with respect to the cooling water tank 21 to extendin a spiral or helical direction such that the cold water pipe 22includes two or more layers of piping. The cold water pipe 22 may bedoubly wound in one embodiment to form two layers. In detail, the coldwater pipe 22 may be spirally doubly wound into a substantiallycylindrical shape such that the side portions include two layers ofpiping. Although examples in which the cold water pipe 22 is doublewound are discussed herein, it should be appreciated that the cold waterpipe 22 may be wound into three or more layers. When the cold water pipe22 is wound several times to form multiple concentric layers of piping,the heat exchange area between the purified water flowing through thecold water pipe 22 and the cooling water in the tank 21 can berelatively increased since a greater length of the cold water pipe 22 ispositioned within a same amount of the cooling water. Furthermore, sincethe cold water pipe 22 is wound several times, the entire height of thecold water pipe 22 can be decreased in comparison to a single wound pipeof similar length. For example, if the cold water pipe 22 is doublewound, the entire height of the cold water pipe 22 can be decreased byhalf. Accordingly, a sufficient heat exchange area may be providedbetween the purified water flowing through the cold water pipe 22 andthe cooling water in the cooling water tank 21, while a height of thecold water pipe 22 and an associated height for the cooling water tank21 holding the cold water pipe 22 may be decreased.

The cold water pipe 22 may be constructed from stainless steel, brass,or other metal or other material of high thermal conductivity and may beformed by winding a hollow cylinder pipe into the double wound coilshape shown in the figures. Since the cold water pipe 22 may beconstructed from a material and shape with a relatively high elasticityor rigidity, such as stainless steel piping, a spring-back of the coldwater pipe 22 may occur due to the doubly wound shape. In spring-back,the high-rigidity object tends to return to an original shape (e.g., astraight pipe) due to a returning force associated with the material andshape. In order to prevent the spring-back, in one embodiment includes aholder on the bottom of the cooling water tank 21 (see FIG. 8) forholding the cold water pipe 22 in the double wound shape, and aspects ofthe holder will be described in detail below.

In the cold water pipe 22, an inlet end 221 may be connected to achannel to the water supplier, and an outlet end 222 may be connected toa channel to the water chute 15 to output the chilled purified water.Since the cold water pipe 22 is doubly wound, both the inlet end 221 andthe outlet end 222 bend and extend in a common direction from the coldwater pipe 22. For example, the inlet end 221 and the outlet end 222 ofthe cold water pipe 22 may vertically extend toward the stirring motorsupport 26. If the cold water pipe 22 is wound odd-numbered times (e.g.,three times, five times, etc.) to form an odd number of layers, theinlet end 221 and the outlet end 222 would be positioned at oppositeedges of the cold water pipe 22. In this configuration, it may becomplicated or difficult to support the cold water pipe 22 within thecold water production unit. Accordingly, winding the cold water pipe 22even-numbered times (e.g., doubly, four times, etc.) may decrease thecomplexity and costs of the cold water production unit 20.

The separator 23 may be provided over and within the cold water pipe 22and divides the internal space of the cooling water tank 21 into a firstspace in which the evaporator 24 is provided and a second space in whichthe cold water pipe 22 is provided. The separator 23 is perforated toinclude openings or holes that allow a flow of the cooling water betweenthe evaporator 24 and the cold water pipe 22. Accordingly, ice that isformed around the evaporator 24 in the first space and is larger thanthe perforations of the separator 23 cannot move to the cold water pipe22 in the second space. Thus, the separator 23 helps prevents the icefrom blocking a flow of cooling water around the cold water pipe 22.

The evaporator 24 may be provided inside a portion of the separator 23.The evaporator 24 is connected to the outlet end of the expansion valvethat is connected to the outlet end of the condenser. A refrigerant thatflows through a refrigerant pipe forming the evaporator 24 cools thecooling water in the cooling water tank 21 by exchanging heat with thecooling water within the cooling water tank 21. The cooling water coolspurified water flowing through the cold water pipe 22 by a second heatexchange.

The stirring motor support 26 may be provided over the separator 23. Thestirring motor support 26 is coupled to the top of the cooling watertank 21, whereby it can cover the top of the first space receiving theevaporator 24. That is, the first space may be defined between thestirring motor support 26 and the separator 23, while the second spacemay be defined between the separator 23 and the cooling water tank 21.

A cold water intake port 261 may be formed at a side of the stirringmotor support 26. The cold water intake port 261 is connected to achannel to the water supplier or to channel passing carrying a purifiedwater from the filter assembly so that the cooling water tank 21 can besupplied with the cooling water. An evaporator connector 241 may beformed at another portion or side of the stirring motor support 26. Theevaporator connector 241 may be connected to the inlet end of theevaporator 24 to provide the refrigerant to the evaporator 24.

The stirring member 25 may be positioned substantially in a middleportion of the second space, but is not limited thereto. When thestirring member 25 is rotated (e.g., by the stirring motor 27), thecooling water is freely moved and mixed between the first space and thesecond space within the cooling water tank 21. Accordingly, thetemperature of the cooling water cooled by the evaporator 24 may be moreuniformly maintained throughout the inside of the cooling water tank 21.The stirring member 25 may be formed in a blade shape or an impellershape radially extending from the rotary shaft, as shown in the figures,but is not limited thereto and may be formed in various shapes.

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing a water channel associated with thewater purifier 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Referring to FIG. 5, a water supply line L is formed from a watersupplier S to the water chute 15 of the water purifier 10 and variousvalves and components for purifying water may be connected to the watersupply line L. In detail, the water supply line L is connected to thewater supplier S, for example, a faucet in a house, and a filterassembly 17 is provided at a predetermined portion of the water supplyline L, so that the filter assembly 17 can filter or remove foreignsubstances to purify the water supplied from the water supplier S.

A water supply valve 61 and a flow sensor 70 may be sequentiallyprovided on the water supply line L connected to the outlet end of thefilter assembly 17. Accordingly, when the amount of water sensed by theflow sensor 70 reaches a set flow rate, the water supply valve 61 can becontrolled to maintain this flow rate. A hot water line L1, a coolingwater line L2, and a cold water line L3 may diverge from a predeterminedportion of the water supply line L extending from the outlet end of theflow sensor 70.

A purified (i.e., room temperature) water valve 66 may be provided atthe end of the water supply line L extending from the outlet end of theflow sensor 70 and a hot water valve 64 may be provided at the end ofthe hot water line L1. A cold water valve 65 may be provided at the endof the cold water line L3, and a cooling water valve 63 may be providedat a predetermined portion of the cooling water line L2. In detail, thecooling water valve 63 is provided at a predetermined portion of thewater supply line L that connects the cooling water intake port 261 andthe diverging point of the cooling water line L2, so cooling water valve63 can control the amount of cooling water that is supplied to thecooling water tank 21.

The water supply lines extending from the outlet ends of the hot watervalve 64, the cold water valve 65, and the purified water valve 66 mayall be connected to the water chute 15. Further, as shown in thefigures, the purified (i.e., room temperature) water, the cold water,and the hot water may be connected to a single output or may beconnected to respective different outputs.

The drain valve 18 may be provided on a water supply line extending outof the cold water production unit 20, as shown in FIG. 5. In anotherexample, the drain valve 18 may be inserted through the cooling watertank 21, as described above.

A flow control valve 62 may be provided at a predetermined position ofthe hot water line L1 (e.g., after the flow sensor 70), and a heater(not shown) may be connected to the hot water line L1 extending from anoutlet end of the flow control valve 62. A hot water valve 64 may beprovided in a portion of the water supply line L that extends from anoutlet end of the heater. For example, water may be heated to apredetermined temperature in the heater after flowing through the hotwater line L1, and when a hot water button of the operation display unit14 (or other input) is selected, the hot water valve 64 is opened todispense hot water through the water chute 15.

The separator 23 according to the present disclosure is describedhereafter in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a topperspective view of the separator 23 that is combined with the coldwater production unit of the water purifier according to an embodimentof the present disclosure and FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of theseparator 23. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the separator 23 may be moldedplastic. In particular, the separator 23 may be made of soft bendableplastic, such as a polyethylene. The separator 23 is provided inside thecooling water tank 21 and may have a conical shape, such that theseparator 23 divides the internal space of the cooling water tank 21into the first space within the separator 23 and the second spaceoutside the separator 23. A portion (e.g., a top rib 236) may be fixedto an inner surface of the cooling water tank 21, or may be held in adesired positioned through contact with the cold water pipe 22 and/orthe evaporator 24.

In detail, the separator 23 may have a bottom (or bottom layer) 231horizontally placed in the cooling water tank 21, a first extension 234extending upward from a portion of the bottom 231, and a plurality ofseparation walls 238 extending upward from the bottom 231 to divide thefirst space into several spaces. The bottom 231 is composed of aplurality of latticed ribs 231 a, and holes through which cooling waterflows are formed between the latticed ribs 231 a. Cooling water withinthe cooling water tank can freely move between the first space and thesecond space through the holes the latticed ribs 231 a. The bottom 231may be formed in a shape that is substantially similar to acorresponding transverse plane in the cooling water tank 21. Forexample, the size and shape of the bottom 231 may closely correspond toa corresponding portion of an interior side surface of the cooling watertank 21.

A substantially circular center hole may be formed substantially at ornear the center of the bottom 231, and the first extension 234 mayextends upward from the edge of the center hole. In detail, the firstextension 234 may have a plurality of first vertical ribs 232 extendingupward from the edge of the center hole and a circular band-shaped firsttop rib 233 connecting the upper ends of the first vertical ribs 232.

The first vertical ribs 232 may be arranged with substantially regularintervals around the center hole in the bottom 231. The first verticalribs 232 may include ribs vertically extending from (e.g., orthogonalto) a horizontal surface (e.g., from bottom 231). The first verticalribs 232 may further include ribs extending at an angle from thehorizontal surface or that otherwise extend between two or more ofvertically extending ribs. A cylindrical or a truncated conical spacemay be formed by the first vertical ribs 232 and the first top rib 233,and this space may be referred to as a stirring member hole (or stirringmember cavity) 233 a. That is, the stirring member 25 may be positionedin the second space of the cooling water tank 21 through the stirringmember hole 233 a. The space formed inside the first extension 234 (thatis, the stirring member hole 233 a) may also be referred to herein as a“third” space.

The separation walls 238 are formed in planar shapes and may extendlaterally from the first vertical ribs 232 and vertically upwards fromthe bottom 231 to divide the first space into several sub-regions. Indetail, the separation walls 238 may be arranged at regular intervalsaround the center hole. Accordingly, the first space can be divided intoseveral sub-regions defined by the first vertical ribs 232, theseparation walls 238, and the inner side of the cooling water tank 21.Therefore, ice that is formed in the first space through a heat exchangebetween the evaporator 24 and the cooling water in the tank 21 canremain in one of sub-regions inside the first space and is blocked frommoving to the other sub-regions inside the first space.

The separation walls 238 may each have a seating groove 238 a forholding the evaporator 24. That is, the refrigerant pipe of theevaporator 24 may be spirally wound several times through the seatinggrooves 238 a of the separation walls 238. The width of the seatinggrooves 238 a may be the same as or slightly larger than an outerdiameter of the refrigerant pipe of the evaporator 24 so that theevaporator 24 may be received in and supported by the seating grooves238 a.

The separation walls 238 may be integrally formed with the bottom 231.Alternatively, the separation walls 238 may be detachably formed. Forexample, the separation wall 238 may be detachably fitted in the bottom231 or may be fitted between the first vertical ribs 232 and the secondvertical ribs 235. That is, the separation walls 238 may be selectivelyattached and detached by a user.

The separator 23 may further have second extensions 237 extending upwardfrom an outside edge of the bottom 231. In detail, the second extension237 may have a plurality of second vertical ribs 235 extending upwardfrom the edge of the bottom 231 and a second top rib 236 connecting theupper ends of the second vertical ribs 235. The second top rib 236 maybe fitted in the cooling water tank 21. That is, the outer edge of thesecond top rib 236 may be brought in close contact with the innerinterior surface of the cooling water tank 21.

Coupling grooves 236 a may be formed at an lateral outside edge of thesecond top rib 236, and the coupling grooves 236 a may be sized andpositioned to fit on coupling projections (not shown) formed on theinner surface of the cooling water tank 21 to couple the separator 23 tothe inner surface of the cooling water tank 21. The coupling grooves 236a may be formed in various shapes, quantities, or locations, dependingon the shapes, quantities, or locations of the coupling projections.

The second vertical ribs 235 may be spaced around the edge of the bottom231 and may be coupled to or otherwise extend from an upper surface ofthe bottom 231. The second vertical ribs 235 are arranged around theseparation walls 238, and some of the second vertical ribs 235 may beconnected to the ends of the separation walls 238. The separation wall238 may be positioned between the first vertical ribs 232 and the secondvertical ribs 235. Accordingly, the first space can be divided intoseveral spaces by the first vertical ribs 232, the separation walls 238,and the second vertical ribs 235. Therefore, as previously described,ice that is formed near the evaporator 24 in one of the sub-regions ofthe first space remains in that sub-regions and is blocked by theseparation walls 238 from moving to the other sub-regions of the firstspace. Consequently, ice coming off the evaporator 24 does not contactthe walls of the cooling water tank 21, so the ice does not generatenoise by impacting the cooling water tank 21 and does not damage thecooling water tank 21.

Cold water pipe seats (or cold water pipe extensions) 239 may be formedin an underside of the bottom 231. The cold water pipe seats 239 mayprotrude from the underside of the bottom 231 and may be partiallystepped. For example, the cold water pipe seats 239 may have steppedsides that are rounded with a curvature corresponding to the outerdiameter of a portion of a coiled shape formed by winding the cold waterpipe 22. Accordingly, an uppermost portion of the cold water pipe 22 canbe seated on the cold water pipe seats 239 (see FIG. 8).

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG.4, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the cold water pipe 22 that is providedin the cooling water tank 21. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the internalspace of the cooling water tank 21 is divided into the first space andthe second space by the separator 23 and a third space can be formed inthe first space by the first extension 234, as previously described. Thefirst space, with the exception for the third space, can be furtherdivided into several sub-regions by the separation walls 238, as alsopreviously described. In detail, the first space may be formed over thebottom 231 of the separator 23, and the second space may be formed underthe bottom 231. The first space is divided into several sub-regions bythe first extension 234, the separation walls 238, and the secondextension 237.

The cold water pipe 22 is positioned above a bottom surface of thecooling water tank 21, and the separator 23 is positioned over the coldwater pipe 22 in the cooling water tank 21. The outer edge of the secondtop rib 236, formed on the top portion of the separator 23, is in closecontact with an inner surface of the cooling water tank 21 to positionand fix the separator 23 in the cooling water tank 21. The cold waterpipe seats 239 may be formed on the underside of the bottom 231 and mayextend downward to contact and hold a portion of the cold water pipe 22in a desired positioned.

The refrigerant pipe of the evaporator 24 may be wound several timesinside the separator 23 to form a substantially round coiled shape. Thecoiled refrigerant pipe 24 may be supported in the seating grooves 238 aof the separation walls 238 provided in the separator 23 to position theevaporator 24 in the first space.

When the stirring member 25 is rotated (e.g., by the storing motor 27),the cooling water is moved in the cooling water tank 21, such as to movebetween the first space and the second space. This motion of the coolingwater helps to maintain more uniform internal temperatures within thecooling water tank 21. Otherwise, water cooled by contact with theevaporator 24 may remain in the first space, and water warmed by contactwith the cold water pipe 22 may remain in the second space, limiting theability of cold water production unit 20 to cool the purified waterpassing through the cold water pipe 22.

Furthermore, the movement of the cooling water caused by the stirringmotion of the stirring member 25 helps to melt ice generated in thefirst space by circulating relatively warmer water toward the ice. Aspreviously described, the ice formed in the first space by contact withthe evaporator 24 may be isolated in the first space by the separator 23so that the ice cannot be move to the second space while the coolingwater can circulate between the first and second spaces. Furthermore,since the first space is divided into several sub-regions by theseparation walls 238 of the separator 23, ice formed in one of thesub-regions does not move to the other sub-regions. Thus, the ice madein the sub-regions cannot freely move within the first space to othersub-regions since the movement of the ice is limited by the separationwalls 238. Consequently, the separation walls 238 may prevent a movementor a rotation of ice within the first region due to clockwise orcounterclockwise flow of water that is formed by the stirring motion ofthe stirring member 25. Accordingly, the motion of the stirring member25 does not cause the ice to move and contact the stirring member 25,the cold water pipe 22, the evaporator 24, or the interior surface ofthe cooling water tank 21, preventing the ice from damaging to thesecomponents and reducing noises caused by the ice impacting thesecomponents.

A holder (or holder rib) 28 for fixing the cold water pipe 22 within thesecond space may be formed inside the cooling water tank 21. Forexample, the holder 28 may protrude a predetermined height upward fromthe bottom (or bottom surface) 211 of the cooling water tank 21. Indetail, the holder 28 may have a rib shape to receive and seat the woundcold water pipe 22. The holder 28 may include a seating groove 281 forreceiving the cold water pipe 22, and the seating groove 281 may beformed at the top of the holder in a substantially U-shape. The multiplewound cold water pipe 22 can be partially inserted in the seating groove281 such that the two layers of the cold water pipe 22 are positioned inclose contact with surfaces of the holder 28. For example, an interiorpiping layer of the cold water pipe 22 may contact an interior verticalsurface of the holder 28, and an exterior piping layer of the cold waterpipe 22 may contact an exterior vertical surface of the holder 28.Accordingly, the holder 28 fixes and support the cold water pipe 22 todeter a bending of the cold water pipe 22 from spring-back and canprevent noise caused by a movement of the cold water pipe 22 within thecooling water tank 21.

A plurality of holders 28 may be formed on the bottom 211 of the coolingwater tank 21. For example, three holders 28 may be formed on the bottomof the cooling water tank 21 and may be arranged at a predetermineddistance circumferentially along the cold water pipe 22. For example,the three holders 28 may be arranged with regular intervals such that anangle distance between two adjacent ones of the holders 28 is about120°. The holders 28 simultaneously hold the cold water pipe 22, so thecold water pipe 22 can be firmly fixed without moving or shaking withinthe cooling water tank 21. However, it should be appreciated that thenumber of the holders 28 is not limited to three, and the cold waterproduction unit 20 may include fewer or more holders 28. Furthermore, itshould be appreciated that the holders 28 may be spaced apart atdifferent, non-uniform intervals as appropriate to fix the position ofthe cold water pipe 22 while providing sufficient space in the coldwater production unit 20 for other components. For instance, the holders28 may be positioned away from the drain valve 18.

The structure for fixing the cold water pipe with the components of thecold water production unit is described hereafter with reference to FIG.8. For example, the cold water pipe 22 may contact and, therefore, befixed in a given location in the cold water production unit 20 by thecooling water tank 21, the separator 23, and the stirring motor support26. In detail, the holders 28 on the bottom 211 of the cooling watertank 21 may contact a lower portion of the cold water pipe 22 such thatthe lower portion of the cold water pipe 22 contacts the interiorsurfaces of the seating grooves 281 of the holders 28. Accordingly, whenthe cold water pipe 22 is double wound to include two layers of piping,a first layer of the cold water pipe 22 may be supported by one surfaceof the seating grooves 281, and a second layer of the cold water pipe 22may be supported by a second surface of the seating grooves such thatthe two layers of the cold water pipe 22 are held in close contact witheach other and cannot separate.

The cold water pipe seats 239 are formed to extend from the bottom ofthe separator 23 to be in close contact with a top portion of the coldwater pipe 22. More specifically, the top interior portion of the coldwater pipe 22 can contact a lateral exterior surface of the cold waterpipe seats 239. Thus, the cold water pipe seats 239 may contact theinnermost layer of the cold water pipe 22. For example, the cold waterpipe seats 239 and the innermost layer of the cold water pipe 22 may bedesigned to be forcibly fitted against each other, such as configuringan interior radius of the cold water pipe 22 to be slightly smaller thana radial distance associated with the cold water pipe seats 239 to causethat interior layer of the cold water pipe 22 to apply a compressiveforce against lateral exterior surfaces of the cold water pipe seats239. In this case, the cold water pipe seats 239 applies outwardpressure to push a portion of the cold water pipe 22 away from a centerso the cold water pipe 22 can be firmly supported. Furthermore, sincethe cold water pipe 22 is fitted between the holders 28 and the coldwater pipe seats 239, a spring-back due to double (or more) winding ofthe cold water pipe 22 can be prevented.

The bottom of the stirring motor support 26 on which the stirring motor27 is provided may be positioned in close contact with a top of theseparator 23. Consequently, the stirring motor support 26 may provide adownward pressing force against the separator 23, and the separator 23may transfer this downward pressing force against the cold water pipe 22to fix the cold water pipe 22 more firmly against the holders 28 and thebottom 211 of the cooling water tank 21.

Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure provide a water purifierof which the height is decreased because a cold wire pipe can beconsiderably reduced in height while being able to provide a sufficientheat exchange area between cold water and cooling water by winding thecold water pipe several times in a cooling water tank. Aspects of thepresent disclosure further provide a water purifier in which spring-backassociated with a cold water pipe that is wound several times isprevented by the structure supporting the cold water pipe, therebypreventing noise and separation of the cold water pipe due to poorfixing of the cold water pipe when flow of cooling water is generated bya stirring member that mixes the cooling water. Aspects of the presentdisclosure further provide a water purifier in which a cold water pipeis firmly fixed by components of a cold water production unit that pressthe cold water pipe toward a desired location.

In a water purifier in one implementation, the cold water pipe providedin a tank is wound several times. Further, the water purifier includes aplurality of holders protruding upward from the bottom of a coolingwater tank and each having a seating groove for partially seating themultiple wound cold water pipe. The holders are arranged at apredetermined distance from each other circumferentially along the coldwater pipe, and the layers of the cold water pipe are positioned withinthe seating grooves.

In one implementation, a water purifier comprises a tank that holds afirst liquid; a pipe that is provided in the tank to contact the firstliquid, the pipe carrying a second liquid to be cooled through thecontact between the pipe and the first liquid and being spirally woundinto a coil that extends vertically and includes a plurality ofconcentric layers of piping; an evaporator that is provided in the tankto contact the first liquid, the evaporator carrying refrigerant to coolthe first liquid in the tank; a permeable separator that is provided inthe tank to divide an internal space of the tank into a first space thatreceives the evaporator and a second space that receives the coil; and aplurality of holder extensions that protrude upward from a bottomsurface of the tank, each of the holder extensions having a seatinggroove to receive a lower portion of the coil.

In another implementation, a water purifier comprises a tank that holdsa first liquid; a pipe that is provided in the tank to contact the firstliquid, the pipe carrying a second liquid to be cooled through thecontact between the pipe and the first liquid and being spirally woundinto a coil that extends vertically; an evaporator that is provided inthe tank to contact the first liquid, the evaporator carryingrefrigerant to cool the first liquid in the tank; and a separator thatis provided in the tank to divide an internal space of the tank into afirst space that receives the evaporator and a second space thatreceives the coil, wherein the separator includes one or more pipe seatsextending from a bottom surface of the separator and toward a bottom ofthe tank, and an interior upper portion of the coil contacts the pipeseats on the bottom of the separator.

In another implementation, a water purifier comprises a tank that holdsa first liquid; a pipe that is provided in the tank to contact the firstliquid, the pipe carrying a second liquid to be cooled through thecontact between the pipe and the first liquid and being spirally woundinto a coil that includes a plurality of concentric layers of piping; anevaporator that is provided in the tank to contact the first liquid, theevaporator carrying refrigerant to cool the first liquid in the tank;and a separator that is provided in the tank to divide the tank into afirst space that receives the evaporator and a second space thatreceives the coil, wherein a top portion of the coil contacts a lowersurface of the separator, and a bottom portion of the coil contacts aninterior bottom surface of the tank.

It should be understood that the present disclosure may be modified invarious ways within the scope of the present disclosure by those skilledin the art and the scope of the present disclosure should be construedon the basis of claims.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A water purifier comprising: a tank that holds afirst liquid; a pipe that is provided in the tank to contact the firstliquid, the pipe carrying a second liquid to be cooled through thecontact between the pipe and the first liquid and being spirally woundinto a coil that extends vertically and includes a plurality ofconcentric layers of piping; an evaporator that is provided in the tankto contact the first liquid, the evaporator carrying refrigerant to coolthe first liquid in the tank; a permeable separator that is provided inthe tank to divide an internal space of the tank into a first space thatreceives the evaporator and a second space that receives the coil; and aplurality of holder extensions that protrude upward from a bottomsurface of the tank, each of the holder extensions having a seatinggroove to receive a lower portion of the coil.
 2. The water purifier ofclaim 1, wherein the holder extensions are provided at a prescribedcircumferential distance from each other along the lower portion of thecoil.
 3. The water purifier of claim 1, wherein: the separator includesone or more pipe seats extending from a bottom surface of the separatorand toward the bottom of the tank, the bottom portion of the coilcontacts an interior surface of the seating grooves of the holders, andan interior upper portion of the coil contacts the pipe seats on thebottom of the separator.
 4. The water purifier of claim 1, wherein theholders are formed at three positions and arranged at regular intervalsalong the bottom portion of the coil.
 5. The water purifier of claim 1,wherein the holders are U-shaped ribs.
 6. The water purifier of claim 1,further comprising a stirring head that is provided in the tank androtates to stir the first liquid.
 7. The water purifier of claim 6,further comprising a stirring motor support, wherein a stirring motorrotating the stirring head is positioned on a top surface of thestirring motor support and the stirring motor support is provided overthe separator.
 8. The water purifier of claim 1, wherein the separatorincludes: a bottom layer that extends horizontally and has a hole; firstextensions that extend upward from a peripheral edge of the hole; and aplurality of separation walls that extend upward from a top of thebottom layer and extend radially from the hole in the bottom layer. 9.The water purifier of claim 8, wherein the bottom layer includeslatticed ribs, and the first liquid flows between the first space andthe second space via through openings between the latticed ribs.
 10. Thewater purifier of claim 8, wherein the first extension includes: aplurality of first vertical ribs that extend a predetermined distanceupward from the top of the bottom layer and are positioned at regularintervals around the hole; and a first top rib that connects upper endsof the first vertical ribs.
 11. The water purifier of claim 10, whereinthe separator further includes second extensions that extend upward froma lateral edge of the bottom layer, and wherein the second extensionincludes: a plurality of second vertical ribs that extend upward fromthe top of the bottom layer and are positioned at regular intervalsalong the lateral edge of the bottom layer; and a second top rib thatconnects upper ends of the second vertical ribs.
 12. The water purifierof claim 11, wherein a portion an outer edge of the second top rib ispositioned less than a threshold distance from an interior surface ofthe tank.
 13. The water purifier of claim 11, wherein the separationwalls are formed between the first vertical ribs and the second verticalribs, and seating grooves for receiving the evaporator are formed in theseparation walls.
 14. The water purifier of claim 13, wherein: theevaporator includes a refrigerant pipe that is spirally wound and isreceived in the seating grooves, and a width of the seating groovescorresponds to an outer diameter of the refrigerant pipe.
 15. A waterpurifier comprising: a tank that holds a first liquid; a pipe that isprovided in the tank to contact the first liquid, the pipe carrying asecond liquid to be cooled through the contact between the pipe and thefirst liquid and being spirally wound into a coil that extendsvertically; an evaporator that is provided in the tank to contact thefirst liquid, the evaporator carrying refrigerant to cool the firstliquid in the tank; and a separator that is provided in the tank todivide an internal space of the tank into a first space that receivesthe evaporator and a second space that receives the coil, wherein theseparator includes one or more pipe seats extending from a bottomsurface of the separator and toward a bottom of the tank, and aninterior upper portion of the coil contacts the pipe seats on the bottomof the separator.
 16. The water purifier of claim 15, further comprisinga stirring head that is provided in the tank and rotates to stir thefirst liquid.
 17. The water purifier of claim 16, further comprising astirring motor support, wherein a stirring motor coupled to and rotatingthe stirring head is positioned on a top surface of the stirring motorsupport and the stirring motor support is provided over the separator.18. The water purifier of claim 15, wherein the pipe includes aplurality of concentric layers of piping.
 19. The water purifier ofclaim 15, wherein the separator includes: a bottom layer that extendshorizontally; and a plurality of separation walls that extend upwardfrom a top of the bottom layer to divide the first space into two ormore sub-regions.
 20. A water purifier comprising: a tank that holds afirst liquid; a pipe that is provided in the tank to contact the firstliquid, the pipe carrying a second liquid to be cooled through thecontact between the pipe and the first liquid and being spirally woundinto a coil that includes a plurality of concentric layers of piping; anevaporator that is provided in the tank to contact the first liquid, theevaporator carrying refrigerant to cool the first liquid in the tank;and a separator that is provided in the tank to divide the tank into afirst space that receives the evaporator and a second space thatreceives the coil, wherein a top portion of the coil contacts a lowersurface of the separator, and a bottom portion of the coil contacts aninterior bottom surface of the tank.